428 RUSSIA, AS IT REALLY (3. 



they suddenly decamped and retreated on Smolensko. There they 

 were soon rejoined by the French, who naturally expected to meet 

 with great opposition; but when both armies were almost within 

 sight, and all predicted a decisive encounter, the Russians again 

 disappeared leaving Smolensko strongly fortified. On the 18th of 

 August the French attacked this bulwark of the Russian empire, on 

 the 19th took it by assault, and on the 21st 120,000 French troops 

 entered Russia following the retreating army. At last, the Cossack 

 Kutusoff having been appointed general-in-chief, the Russians took 

 a strong and formidable position between the Moskowa and Boro- 

 dino, supported by the fortified heights of Grecki and Semenosko'i, 

 and having assembled on the field of battle 150,000 combatants, pre- 

 pared themselves to fight. On the 7th of September Napoleon at 

 the head of 80,000 of his troops, engaged in battle, and completely 

 defeated them, without having recourse to his body guards, which 

 consisted of 20,000 men. Here we stop to remark, that at Borodino 

 the Russians were almost in the centre of their dominions and sur- 

 rounded by all their resources. We do not speak of the disastrous 

 result of that memorable campaign, because it was not owing either 

 to the skill of Kutusoff, or to the military power of Russia, but 

 entirely to the premature inclemency of the climate and to fortuitous 

 circumstances not to be averted by the genius even of the greatest 

 general. 



Let us now turn our views towards the Balkan, where we shall 

 find the best Russian general Diebitch heading the flower of the 

 Muscovite and Polish army, and advancing against the Turks much 

 his inferiors both in number and discipline. Well, the Russians 

 having there met with unexpected opposition, were on the eve of 

 being defeated by the Turks for want of means of carrying on their 

 military operations, and were actually obliged to make two campaigns 

 in order to accomplish the subjugation of two small provinces. Here 

 again we stop, and from Adrianople we beg our readers to accom- 

 pany us to witness in Persia the almost immortal prowess of Paskie- 

 vitch Erivansky and his army. Here again we discover that the 

 Russians, being more than double in number, and much better equip- 

 ped than their opponents, employed nearly fifteen months to wrest 

 from the schah of Persia the province of Erzeroum. 



With regard to the Russian fleet we have very little to say, and it 

 is a fact, that without the English and French co-operation, the 



